Chapter Summaries

Li Mo and his companions were trapped in a flesh-filled cave by a Blood Refinement Hall External Scene Realm expert and fought their way toward an escape. Li Mo opened a path with a massive hammer strike, then stayed behind to hold off the pursuing vines while the others fled.

• The old man sealed the cave passage and targeted Li Mo, while Tan Zhuyin recognized him and blamed him for the Heaven Patrol Guard's pursuit.
• Li Mo struck the old man with Hammer Treasure and urged his companions to fight together against Tan Zhuyin, the male Daoist nun, and the cultists.
• Zhao Jing used the saber intent left by her teacher, Xiao Qin summoned a god's power, and Huang Donglai killed cultists with his unusual techniques.
• Li Mo suggested Huang Donglai carry Murong Xiao as a shield, and their combined defense helped them withstand the cultists' attacks.
• Li Mo provoked the old man until he unleashed the domain's power, then used a tremendous hammer strike to rupture the flesh-and-blood cave and open an escape route.
• The others fled through the opening as Li Mo turned back to block the vines reaching for them.

Ying Bing tempered her body with heavenly tribulation before sensing the Heavenly Human Divine Sword beneath the ruined temple and rushing into the Underground Palace. She arrived in the karst cave just as Li Mo faced the old man, took hold of the sword, and told him she had gotten lost.

• Ying Bing used the Tribulation Body Jade to endure increasingly powerful lightning and temper her body, destroying the ruined temple in the process.
• Duke Gan sensed the heavenly tribulation outside the Imperial Capital and flew toward its source.
• Ying Bing sensed the Heavenly Human Divine Sword in the Underground Palace and rode the Venus Sword inside despite the approaching tribulation.
• Li Mo fought the old man's flesh-and-blood incarnations with the Heavenly Human Divine Sword while refining his swordsmanship and waiting for the Divine Constable.
• Ying Bing descended into the karst cave through the lightning, took the Heavenly Human Divine Sword from Li Mo, and said she had gotten lost.

Ying Bing arrived at the karst cave riding a heavenly tribulation and joined Li Mo against the Blood Refinement Hall cultists. As she prepared to unleash a fourth layer of lightning against the External Scene Realm elder, Li Mo caught her hand and asked her not to act so suddenly.

• Ying Bing arrived through the blasted cave roof, reunited with Li Mo, and said the cultists were bad people for keeping him there.
• The Blood Refinement Hall cultists attacked after Tan Zhuyin urged them to stop watching Li Mo and Ying Bing.
• Ying Bing drew down three layers of heavenly tribulation and struck with the Heavenly Human Divine Sword, disrupting Gu Wuhen and driving lightning into the External Scene Realm elder.
• The elder unleashed a rain of blood that began to wear away the heavenly lightning, so Ying Bing prepared to trigger a fourth layer of tribulation.
• Li Mo caught Ying Bing's hand before the fourth layer fell and asked her not to do something so sudden; Ying Bing replied, "I know you know me."

Li Mo and Ying Bing survived a battle with a monstrous arm until Duke Gan arrived and unleashed overwhelming lightning, driving the surviving enemies into retreat. Afterward, Li Mo recounted the events to the divine constable, while Ying Bing said she had come to take him back, leaving Li Mo wondering how she had found him.

• The blue-black arm emerged from the old man's chest, fought Ying Bing's sword, then tore into Gu Wuhen and entered his body.
• Duke Gan appeared above the lava cave, and Gu Wuhen and the Demon Summoning Cult members fled as Li Mo and Ying Bing escaped.
• Duke Gan attacked with his serpent spear, filling the lava cave with lightning and leaving the fate of its occupants uncertain.
• Murong Xiao rushed to greet Li Mo and was burned by the lingering tribulation, while Xiao Qin and Zhao Jing joined them outside the ruins.
• The divine constable thanked Li Mo and the others, and Li Mo described how they had uncovered and destroyed the den.
• Ying Bing told the divine constable she had come to take Li Mo back, prompting Li Mo to wonder how she had found him.

Li Mo reported the Blood God's strange remnant to the Divine Constable, gained a huge amount of martial arts insight, and returned to Cloud-Stepping Tower with Ying Bing. The Demon Summoning Cult planned to infiltrate the Hidden Dragon Assembly, while Ying Bing agreed to teach Li Mo her sword technique after he improved his compatibility with the Heavenly Human Divine Sword.

• Li Mo told the Divine Constable that Ying Bing had defeated the Demon Summoning Cult expert and described the ancient, wounded arm that emerged from the expert's chest.
• Li Mo received more than three hundred years of martial arts insight and invited his companions to a feast before heading back to Cloud-Stepping Tower.
• Tan Zhuyin told the Demon Summoning Cult leaders that Ying Bing and Li Mo had destroyed the Blood Refinement Hall stronghold, and the leaders decided to place a prodigy among the Hidden Dragon Assembly's top three to enter Heavenly Human City.
• Li Mo observed the moon with Ying Bing, and she offered to teach him Divine Firmament Demon-Subduing once he had comprehended more of the Heavenly Human Divine Sword.
• Ying Bing hugged Li Mo to examine his strengthened physique and discovered that it had surpassed hers.

Constable Lu told Heavenly Mountain Sword Villa how Ying Bing used the Heavenly Human Divine Sword to break into the Blood Refinement Hall’s stronghold, prompting the Villa to reconsider the sword’s power and Li Mo’s future. At Cloud-Stepping Tower, Li Mo tested his improved physique and tried to make the divine sword cooperate before sparring with the Great Sage Projection.

• Constable Lu recounted how his disciple infiltrated a Blood Refinement Hall stronghold and Ying Bing used the Heavenly Human Divine Sword to tear through its fifth-realm External Scene Realm.
• Xie Yiding and Du Wufeng concluded that Ying Bing could wield the divine sword with strength comparable to—or greater than—Junior Sister Shi, while Xie Xuan noted that Li Mo currently had it.
• Du Wufeng regretted forging Li Mo a hammer and decided to teach him weapon-forging arts in hopes of steering him away from his crooked path of swordsmanship.
• At Cloud-Stepping Tower, Li Mo tested his Eight-Nine Arcane Art and Diamond Indestructible, then decided to spar with the Great Sage Projection using the Heavenly Human Divine Sword.
• When the divine sword remained limp and unresponsive, Li Mo threatened it with Hammer Treasure, whose intimidation made the sword straighten up.

Li Mo comprehended several sword techniques from the Heavenly Human Divine Sword, discovering that the common man's sword suited him better than scholarly sword arts. At Cloud-Stepping Tower, he complained about his new nickname just as Cold Fairy sat beside him, leaving the others to wonder if she was the wife he claimed not to have.

• Li Mo learned the Unsevered Injustice Sword from a vision of a pig butcher who killed the corrupt governor, then studied other sword charms.
• Li Mo struggled to comprehend a sword technique based on governing a nation and guessed that scholarly sword arts did not suit him.
• Li Mo cooked a dish and joined the Hidden Dragon Ranking prodigies at Cloud-Stepping Tower, where they called him Wife-Prospering Fighting Soul.
• Li Mo protested that he had no wife and asked where his wife was.
• Cold Fairy arrived and sat beside Li Mo, prompting everyone at the table to lean away.

Li Mo declared that he wanted to keep the nickname Wife-Prospering Fighting Soul, then revealed he had learned the commoner's sword of the chivalrous from the Heavenly Human Divine Sword. Ying Bing took him upstairs to teach him more, while Divine Craftsman Du arrived determined to stop Li Mo from straying further into swordsmanship.

• Ying Bing said she liked Li Mo's nickname, leaving the others envious and stunned.
• Li Mo chose to keep Wife-Prospering Fighting Soul rather than Divine Hammer Little Overlord.
• Li Mo said he had learned the commoner's sword of the chivalrous and was struggling with the scholar's sword for governing the world and ruling a nation.
• Ying Bing invited Li Mo to her room to continue his sword training, and he went upstairs with her.
• Divine Craftsman Du and Xie Xuan arrived and learned that Ying Bing was teaching Li Mo the Divine Firmament Subduing Demons sword strike.
• Du Wufeng hurried upstairs, resolved to rescue Li Mo from his sword obsession.

Li Mo hugged Ying Bing from behind as she prepared to teach him the Divine Firmament Heavenly Heart Sword, then learned about the divine-weapon wielders who could challenge him at the Hidden Dragon Assembly. He refused Du Wufeng’s offer to replace the Heavenly Human Divine Sword with a hammer and chose to keep studying swordsmanship with Ying Bing.

• Li Mo surprised Ying Bing with a hug from behind, and she tried to hide her flustered reaction while asking about his transformed hammer.
• Ying Bing explained how her modified Divine Firmament Demon-Slaying stance used the body's response before intent and one's own intent to draw forth Heaven's intent.
• Du Wufeng and Xie Xuan interrupted the lesson, and Li Mo claimed he had a sword in his heart despite holding no sword.
• Du Wufeng urged Li Mo to return the Heavenly Human Divine Sword and listed several Hidden Dragon Assembly contestants who wielded divine weapons.
• Li Mo thanked Du Wufeng but declined a replacement hammer, saying he wanted to continue learning swordsmanship from Ying Bing.

Li Mo learned that he had grasped thirty percent of the Heavenly Human Divine Sword’s sword charm, while Du Wufeng explained the sword’s history and predicted it might be reforged again. On the morning of the Hidden Dragon Assembly, Li Mo and Ying Bing entered a bustling marketplace, where they found stalls selling cheering merchandise for the competitors.

• Ying Bing revealed that Li Mo had grasped thirty percent of the Heavenly Human Divine Sword’s sword charm, surprising Xie Xuan and Du Wufeng.
• Du Wufeng recounted how the Heavenly Human Divine Sword had been reforged three times and said its growing spirituality might allow another reforging in the future.
• Li Mo asked Ying Bing to continue teaching him and suggested they cultivate together after their lesson.
• Several days later, Li Mo saw crowds and merchandise gathering around Cloud-Stepping Tower for the Hidden Dragon Assembly.
• Murong Xiao told Li Mo that studying the Jade Phoenix God’s Divine Intent had made him much harder to defeat, then left to join his sect.
• Shang Qinqing arrived to accompany Ying Bing, and the group walked toward the inner city, where Li Mo found stalls selling Ying Bing cheering gear but struggled to find merchandise for himself.

Li Mo, Ying Bing, and Shang Qinqing visited the inner city, where Ying Bing bought every Divine Hammer Little Overlord doll she could find. They arrived at the imperial arena as the Hidden Dragons gathered, with Crown Prince Jiang Yu favored to win and Li Mo and Ying Bing emerging as potential challengers.

• Ying Bing asked Li Mo to buy her all six Big-Headed Dolls at a stall, then asked where else they were sold.
• Li Mo, Ying Bing, and Shang Qinqing swept through the stalls until Ying Bing had collected every Divine Hammer Little Overlord doll they could find.
• Li Mo said he had learned enough to use Divine Firmament Demon-Sweeping, while Ying Bing saw a system prompt warning that five days remained until the next ranking and revealing the defeat penalty.
• Li Mo and Ying Bing entered the inner city, where young prodigies greeted Li Mo and asked about his sword practice.
• At the arena, the Fourth Prince and Princess Yuyang predicted Jiang Yu would win, while Zhong Zhenyue argued that Li Mo and Ying Bing could still contend; the nobles noted Jiang Yu's strength in the Imperial Capital.

The Hidden Dragon Assembly opened as the Emperor announced its rules, while Li Mo and Ying Bing prepared to compete. Ying Bing recalled her lonely first victory and resolved to win again for the people waiting for her.

• Murong Xiao claimed he had improved the Immovable Wisdom King Golden Body by studying the Sea Cucumber Divine Intent, and Heng Yuan tried to search his sleeves for hidden meat.
• Divine Monk Huai Kong opened the Alms Bowl to expand the assembly platform as the Emperor and Empress arrived in a dragon carriage.
• The Emperor’s decree announced that contestants would draw lots and fight, with the top three entering Heavenly Human City and all ranked geniuses receiving rewards.
• Jiang Chulong moved closer to Li Mo and Ying Bing as the assembly began.
• Ying Bing remembered winning the assembly once while feeling alone, then resolved to win again for those now waiting behind her.
• Li Mo decided to pursue a top-three finish to help Ying Bing reclaim the other half of the Heavenly Phoenix Domain, and to aim for victory at the assembly.

Empress Chuge drew the Hidden Dragon Assembly lots, pairing Jiang Chulong with Jiang Yuyang. Li Mo bet his entire fortune on Jiang Chulong to bolster her confidence, and his ominous display left Jiang Yuyang shaken before the match began.

• Empress Chuge drew the golden beads, and the match list paired Jiang Chulong with Jiang Yuyang.
• The princes and nobles discussed Jiang Chulong’s low cultivation and expected Princess Yuyang to win.
• Ying Bing comforted Jiang Chulong and told her that Li Mo had gone to bankrupt the Fourth Prince.
• Li Mo returned after betting five hundred Profound Crystals and two golden mountains on Jiang Chulong’s victory.
• Li Mo and Ying Bing acted mysteriously to frighten Princess Yuyang, while Jiang Chulong climbed onto the arena with newfound confidence.

Jiang Chulong defeated Princess Yuyang with a sword technique she had learned by watching Teacher Heavenly Venerable’s demonstration, shocking the arena and Li Mo. The Fourth Prince lost a fortune, while the nobles wondered what Jiang Yu had done to the returned princess after taking her Sword Bone.

• Princess Yuyang attacked first with a powerful dragon-like sword technique, but Jiang Chulong spotted its flaw and cut through her sword and several strands of hair with one strike.
• The Thousand Forms Martial Venerable recognized that Jiang Chulong had forged a new path of the sword, and Jiang Chulong hurried to Li Mo, relieved that she had won.
• Jiang Chulong explained that she had learned the sword technique by watching Teacher Heavenly Venerable’s scene once, leaving Li Mo stunned because he had never taught it.
• The Fourth Prince learned that his bet had cost him sixteen mountains of gold and four thousand Profound Crystals.
• The nobles recalled that Jiang Yu had once entered the Cold Palace, emerged bloodied with a strange sword-shaped bone, and sent the young Jiang Chulong away in a sedan chair; they wondered what had happened to him after taking her Sword Bone.

At the tournament, Jiang Chulong defeated Jiang Yuyang in one strike, while the judges predicted Xie Xuan would have the advantage over Li Mo. Li Mo waited for Ying Bing to win and encourage him before entering the arena, where he summoned the Heavenly Human Divine Sword to face Xie Xuan.

• Emperor Jingtai praised Jiang Chulong’s victory, while Empress Chuge asked what would happen when Jiang Chulong met Jiang Yu.
• Xie Xuan found that his first opponent was Li Mo, and Xie Yiding and Du Wufeng judged that Li Mo was likely to lose because of his lower realm and limited sword skill.
• Jiang Chengling lost to Ying Bing, who defeated him and severed his weapon with a single strike.
• Li Mo waited for Ying Bing to finish her match, then asked her to wish him luck so his Heaven-Equalizing Battle Intent would grow stronger.
• Li Mo stepped onto the stage, summoned the Heavenly Human Divine Sword, and challenged Xie Xuan to fight.

Li Mo faced Xie Xuan in a sword match, where Xie Xuan attacked his Will Soul with the art of the heart sword. As Li Mo searched for a way to counter it, the purple-clad eunuch's improvised narration was exposed as a passage from a scandalous illustrated book.

• Xie Xuan challenged Li Mo to guess how much power he could draw from the patriarch's sword, then began their match with an invisible heart-sword attack.
• Xie Yiding explained that the fighters were clashing through their Will Souls while Du Wufeng handed the purple-clad eunuch an illustrated book to narrate for the confused crowd.
• The eunuch read a dramatic, fabricated account of Li Mo and Xie Xuan's duel, bewildering the spectators and drawing Ying Bing's attention.
• Xie Xuan's spiritual sword strikes shook Li Mo's Will Soul, but Li Mo recalled Ice Block's lessons and considered using the Heavenly Human Divine Sword's intent.
• Xie Yiding seized the book and identified it as The Overbearing Empress Falls in Love With Me.

Li Mo defeated Xie Xuan in a clash of minds by awakening the Heavenly Human Divine Sword’s resonance, then watched the remaining Hidden Dragon Assembly matches. The chapter ended as Jiang Yu unleashed his Golden Dragon Divine Intent in the Imperial Capital, leaving Li Mo wondering whether the city had strengthened him.

• Li Mo used a sword technique to exploit Xie Xuan’s lapse in concentration, struck his Will Soul, and won their clash of minds.
• Xie Xuan admitted defeat, while spectators reacted with confusion and rumors that Li Mo’s swordsmanship came from Ying Bing.
• Ying Bing praised Li Mo but urged him to keep training, and Li Mo teased her about teaching him how to give hickeys.
• The day’s matches established the winners’ and losers’ brackets, with Huang Donglai, Murong Xiao, and Xiao Qin among the notable competitors.
• Jiang Yu unleashed his Golden Dragon Divine Intent, and Li Mo noticed its overwhelming pressure and wondered whether the Imperial Capital amplified his strength.

Jiang Yu defeated Zhong Zhenyue by overwhelming him with imperial authority, but Zhong endured the pressure long enough to deliver his challenge before collapsing. Li Mo ignored Jiang Yu’s authority to carry Zhong away, leaving the spectators stunned and insulting the Crown Prince’s double pupils.

• Jiang Yu’s imperial majesty forced Zhong Zhenyue and much of the crowd to their knees, though Li Mo and Tian Miao resisted it.
• Tian Miao explained that people tied more closely to the Great Yu imperial family felt the pressure more strongly, while Li Mo’s Great Sage Divine Intent grew excited.
• Jiang Yu ordered Zhong Zhenyue to discard his weapon, but Zhong insisted on questioning him and pushed forward through the crushing pressure.
• Zhong Zhenyue collapsed after reaching Jiang Yu and asked Li Mo to know that he was no coward.
• Li Mo rushed onto the stage, treated Zhong Zhenyue, and carried him away despite Jiang Yu’s imperial authority.
• Li Mo mocked Jiang Yu’s double pupils as he left, shocking the nobles and spectators.

After Li Mo angered the nobles by speaking out in the arena, he noticed their strange influence and the fear his association with him inspired. He spent the evening grilling skewers with Clear Abyss Sect and ended up outside Ying Bing’s bath, where she teased him with an invitation to wash.

• Li Mo’s words in the arena drew the nobles’ hostility, but Ying Bing stood beside him and Emperor Jingtai ended the confrontation.
• Li Mo and Huang Donglai joked about dinner as they left, while Li Mo wondered about the unsettling nobles and their resemblance to the Wind and Moon Cottage.
• Li Mo set up a barbecue stall outside Cloud-Stepping Tower, gave skewers to a little girl, and secretly followed her to let her keep them.
• The prodigies and other people avoided Li Mo after the Crown Prince moved into Cloud-Stepping Tower, and Li Mo understood they feared being associated with him.
• Li Mo followed Ying Bing to her room under the pretext of helping her recharge, then waited behind a screen while she bathed and asked if he wanted to wash.

Li Mo practiced his perfected finger technique on Ying Bing and admitted that his progress with the sword of governing the world had stalled. Ying Bing encouraged him to pursue the sword he loved, and Li Mo decided to focus on mastering the sword of chivalry.

• Li Mo found Ying Bing waiting in her nightgown after her bath and used martial insights to bring his Flower-Plucking Finger to the perfected realm.
• Li Mo demonstrated his finger technique by massaging Ying Bing’s foot, then told her that he had stalled while trying to comprehend the sword of governing the world and ruling a nation.
• Ying Bing told Li Mo to do what he loved and not worry about whether he was good at it, while privately hoping he would not burden himself for her sake.
• Li Mo realized Ying Bing had fallen asleep, noticed she was wearing nothing beneath her nightgown, and retreated to the World Seed after she caught his clothes.
• After calming down, Li Mo decided to focus on perfecting the sword of chivalry rather than struggle with the sword of governing the world or the sword of imperial dao.